Category: Campania

Thanksgiving in Italy

On By Jo Anne OxleyIn Buying a house in Italy, Campania, Castelnuovo Cilento, Cilento, Expat in Italy, Food, Italy, Southern Italy, Velina, Italy4 Comments

So, here I am, beginning to feel quite at home in Italy and preparing to celebrate my first American holiday here. As I awoke two days prior, I gasped with excitement to see the surprise Monte Stella had in store for me – She was adorned with a light, glistening frosting of snow!! Snow is extremely rare in Southern Italy and rarely ever happens, but I was lucky enough to witness this rare event.

Monte Stella stands at a majestic 3,711 feet above sea level right by the sea, so this just further emphasizes her stature! There is truly no way to capture her majesty with a lens. You must be physically present to take in the full effect, which in case you haven’t gathered by now, I would be more than ready and willing to do 24/365. In Italy, I always rise early every morning and practically run to the window and balcony to check out the view. This often leads to yet another photo shoot of the coastline and Monte Stella, because it’s never the same picture twice. Yes, God is the most amazing artist! And in Casalvelino, He has a big sky, huge Monte Stella and the sea to work with, all at once . . . in my opinion, it doesn’t get better!

Before I knew it, it was Thanksgiving and I awoke to find quite a different view. The atmosphere had become a bit unstable, perhaps due to the cold air that caused the snow to fall on Monte Stella. My weather app told me to expect a stormy day for Thanksgiving, and the skies certainly supported that forecast, so I hurried out to the shops before afternoon siesta set in to grab everything I would need for my Cilentano-style Thanksgiving Feast.

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So, off I went to the pescheria (fish store), pasticceria (pastry shop) and frutta e verdure (fruit and vegetables) to gather everything needed for my feast.

Then to go home and enjoy preparing my “catch”. The tiny clams were simply dilizioso! Everything had such a fresh taste and smell, unlike the watery tasting fruit we often are stuck buying back in the states, unless you are lucky enough to be located close to a produce source so you can buy fresh directly.

The day was filled with back to back thunderstorms and I enjoyed watching the spectacular cloud formations over the sea and around Monte Stella from my hilltop perch across the valley.

After about twelve back to back dramatic storms, clearing seemed to be coming from the sea. Red sky at night, sailors delight!

Ciao!

Giò

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Cilento Life

On By Jo Anne OxleyIn Buying a house in Italy, Campania, Cilento, Expat in Italy, Italy, Owning Italian property, Southern Italy, Uncategorized, US citizens purchasing property in Italy, Velina, Italy6 Comments

So, here I was, waking up in Italy in my very own home for the first time! This would be my first full day in Villa D’Amore since I settled on the property early in June, six months prior. Other than the hour that I viewed the property three days before buying it back in June I had never visited Italy south of Naples.

Under the Tuscan Sun has always been one of my favorite movies, due to my love of Italy, but it was never my intention to impulsively buy a property in Italy or anywhere else. In reality, that only happened in the movie version of Frances Mayes story. In real life, she had rationally purchased a home in Cortona only after spending about 20 summers there. I often giggle to myself that Hollywood would not have to alter my story, since I just do what is the unthinkable for most normal (normale) people.

Since it was Thanksgiving week, it was well into November and I had the chance to witness the winter weather patterns for the very first time. I have incredibly indescribable views from Villa D’Amore, which is why I decided to buy it sight unseen after one email conversation with Luisa from Property Organizers.

The very first thing I did upon waking on this first morning was walk out on the balcony and view my “new empire”. From the far right, I could see the valley, some farms and olive groves.

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As I panned to the left, directly in front of me stood Monte Stella, a 3,711 foot high reportedly extinct (hopefully true) volcano. I just stared at “her”, my jaw dropped in childlike wonder. This was just the beginning of a morning ritual for me. The clouds were so dramatic.

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Then, continuing to pan further to the left was our perfect slice of the Tyrrhenian Sea!

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I knew one thing for sure, there would be much sky gazing during my days at Villa Velina!

Ciao!

Giò

Innamorarsi di Villa D’Amore (Falling in Love) – Part I

On By Jo Anne OxleyIn Buying a house in Italy, Campania, Castelnuovo Cilento, Cilento, Expat in Italy, Owning Italian property, Southern Italy, Uncategorized, US citizens purchasing property in Italy9 Comments

It had been five months, one week and five days since I stepped back on US soil holding the keys to Villa D’Amore, and finally time to return and stay there for my first time. I would spend Thanksgiving week in Italy! My only prior visit was three days before settlement and for less than an hour. During the wait, I behaved like a child with an Advent Calendar counting down to Christmas!

Villa D’Amore now had the basic necessities – a bed to sleep in, a cucina to cook in and chairs and a table for eating the delicious fresh local foods I would cook. Other than this short list of furnishings, Villa D’Amore was empty – not a wine glass, not a dish, not a fork, not a toilet seat, not a shower surround or shower curtain rod. One thing it did have was lighting in every room; albeit that lighting consisted of black electrical wires with a light bulb attached at the end! While eagerly awaiting my return, I made lists of everything needed to comfortably furnish my beloved Italian home.

During my stay in Positano, one of my three destinations on that particular trip to Italy, I fell in love with this magical town and its beautiful ceramics. My rental villa there had beautiful dishes and after returning home, I attempted to find which store made them – yes, they make their beautiful dishes right there! I was pleasantly surprised when I located the store online – Ceramica Assunta (http://www.ceramicassunta.it/). Their designs were quite distinctive. My rental had beautiful multi-color plates with a chicken design. After previewing the many options, I choose a beautiful lemon pattern. I decided to do one in each color since I would only have one set of dishes, at least that way it would feel like four different sets. Then, I decided it would make sense to stop in Positano on my way down, spend a night and pick up the dishes.

I wrote an email to the store and than called them and placed the order. Lucky for me, I was planning months ahead, because they make their dishes to order. The store owner assumed that I would want the order shipped to America. When I explained that I wanted to personally pick them up because they were for our home in Castelnuovo Cilento, I could feel the man smile over the phone. I explained that in 3 months when I arrived, I would have a small window of one afternoon to come pick up the dishes. Since I were picking them up in person, they did not want any money at all up front. I was told I could pay when I picked them up. I arranged to pick them up in the afternoon of my first day there. Since November is off-season for Positano, and the shops have limited hours, he actually made an appointment to pick them up. I crossed my fingers that this would actually work out.

After flying into Rome and grabbing a rental car, I arrived in Positano by noon and checked into Hotel Villa delle Palme right in town on Viale Pasitea. I then quickly drove into the center of town to the ceramic shop to pick up the wonderful ceramic dishes. Since there was no place to park, I just hugged the side of the road.

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I walked into the ceramics store and the friendly owner greeted me. He had everything ready; all in the same lemon pattern, but 4 different color schemes: 4 dinner dishes, 4 salad plates, 4 bowls, 4 mugs.  All were perfect. I smiled and thanked the owner profusely, especially for opening up the closed store just for me that day.

Virtually Furnishing Villa D’Amore

On By Jo Anne OxleyIn Buying a house in Italy, Campania, Castelnuovo Cilento, Cilento, Expat in Italy, Owning Italian property, US citizens purchasing property in Italy, Velina, Italy2 Comments

During the five months between receiving the keys to Villa D’Amore and my return over Thanksgiving 2013, I kept busy researching the area and purchasing and arranging for the installation of a kitchen (cucina). Interestingly, the word for kitchen and cook is the same, which explains why you will sometimes hear someone Italian say “you are a good kitchen”.  I can assure you that when I attempt to speak Italian, I say equally interesting things!

I could never have done this without the help of Maria, whose family sold me the condo. It all started when I asked Maria where she would suggest we buy our kitchen.  She suggested Mobili Oranges in Casal Velino Marina and “Facebooked” pictures of some styles. When I immediately fell in love with one, Maria said she would negotiate a better price for me!! She did a great job and got a matching table and chairs for free! It is customary to sell “sets” like this in Italy.

Most kitchens are modular (think Ikea) and you can buy different configurations to fit your needs. The configurations include sinks, stoves, ovens, refrigerators and dishwashers (if desired). I decided against a dishwasher. If I was going to have a 10 foot kitchen, I did not want to sacrifice the extra cabinet space. Also, I were only planning to have tableware for 4, so I would never fill a dishwasher before I would need the dishes for the next meal. After all, the whole point of Italy for me was to go back to a simpler time – not to buy extra sets of dishes so we could store the dirty ones in the dishwasher until the full load was ready to run! The excesses of my Big Fat American Life were really beginning to sink in as I planned what I would need and how I would furnish Villa Velina.

While there in the summer with her family, Maria also arranged for and oversaw the installation of my kitchen. I wired the funds to Mobili Oranges just prior to installation. I learned that Mobili Oranges also sold other furniture, so I inquired about a bed. Once again, Maria came to the rescue and chose a (very comfortable) bed. This was the last item I couldn’t do without for my first visit. Mobili actually delivered the bed before receiving payment for it!! When would that ever happen here? They simply trusted me to wire the funds, as I had for the cucina.

Maria’s husband, Alessandro also helped me tremendously. For example, the connection in the wall was set up for a hard-wired connection and the oven came with a cord with a plug. This is just a small detail that Alessandro corrected for me. I truly couldn’t have done it without them!

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Planes, Cars, Ferries and Buying Villa Velina

On By Jo Anne OxleyIn Buying a house in Italy, Campania, Castelnuovo Cilento, Cilento, Expat in Italy, Italy, Mezzogiorno, Owning Italian property, Southern Italy, US citizens purchasing property in Italy, Velina, Italy8 Comments

Continuing from The Big Decision . . .

Before I knew it, I was on my way to catch my flight to Rome to begin my two week Southern Italian vacation. As I cleared customs and was reunited with my luggage, I instantly spotted my driver holding a sign with my name. Antonio took me just across the road to his Mercedes (illegally parked, of course) and whisked me down the autostrada to the Naples ferry port and my hydrofoil to Capri.

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While in Positano, I had a little business to take care of – I needed to open a bank account at Banco di Napoli. Property Organizers had made arrangements with the local branch so we could conveniently handle this while in Positano. Property Organizers had already secured a Codice Fiscale for me, so securing an Italian bank account so I could transfer my money in to cover the purchase, was the last detail left. Oh, did I forget the most important thing? The other piece of business while in Positano was to meet my realtor and travel down to actually physically see Villa Velina, a detail most normal (normale) people would have handled before (prima) sending all those Euros for a deposit.

My time in Italy felt leisurely. The Monday after arriving in Positano, I made it a priority to get to the Banco to get my account opened. My contact there was Paolo and he immediately greeted me and invited me into his office. Once in, I could see he had a stack of account-opening documents in front of him. We exchanged greetings and small talk and Paolo asked me about the location of the property I was buying. I replied that it was in the Caselvelino area, about 1.5 hours to the south. Paolo began to shuffle the papers nervously and asked why I was opening the account in Positano, rather than closer to where my home would be. He spoke very good English. I explained that Property Organizers had arranged for this in Positano for my convenience because I was vacationing there. Paolo then continued to play with the papers and looked up at me and said “I have never opened an account for people who do not live in Positano and I don’t feel comfortable doing this”. I tried everything, including getting Property Organizers involved, but Paolo wouldn’t budge. This was a huge concern, because I had to get the funds transferred in time to clear and be available for settlement and I understood in Italy even though you may wire-transfer, it could take a couple of days to be recognized by the bank. Once the funds were available, I would have to go back and get the equivalent of a cashiers check for settlement! (How I managed to get the funds in cyberspace awaiting the opening of the Italian account is a topic for another story)

So, Property Organizers came up with Plan B. When Luisa picked me up on Wednesday, we would go first to the branch in Agropoli (a town one hour to the south) to open the account. I realized we were going to be cutting this close. Wednesday came quickly and I had the pleasure of meeting Luisa and driving down the remainder of the incredible Amalfi Coast for the first time as we traveled first to the bank and then to Villa Velina.

We arrived in Agropoli at 1:30 pm, excited to be finally getting this done and found the doors of the Banco locked! “Oh, no”, I thought, “this is siesta”. This did not fluster Luisa, she just pounded on the door until someone came and opened it for us! We were taken upstairs and met with our banker, who spoke only Italian. Fortunately, I were there with Luisa. The account got opened, the funds got transferred and we crossed our fingers that on either Thursday or Friday the funds would be available when we went back to the Positano branch to get the checks for settlement.

Now, on to Villa Velina! As we neared the area, it became clear that we were not quite in the right location, so Luisa called the owner’s son and he agreed to meet us at a gas station. We followed him up the hill to the property and there it was gleaming in the sunshine with views and interior exactly as expected and yet better.

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After taking all of the requisite photos, Luisa drove down to the nearby beach town that we could see from our balcony and we had lunch and gelato as we walked the beach promenade. As we drove out of town, there Villa Velina was glowing in the sun on the hillside across the valley! The only thing that could have made it better was a rainbow!

Back in Positano for Thursday, I enjoyed my last two days so much – I really could live there. Below is a picture of me on our balcony and one of our many shots of this Bella Città!

On Friday, I successfully extracted our funds for settlement, on Saturday I traveled up to Rome and met up with Luisa to go to settlement. All went smoothly.  After settlement, I went out for caffè with my wonderful new friends.

When I hopped on the flight home the next morning with Italian house keys in my hands, I can’t begin to express how wrong that felt. Shouldn’t I be staying????  I must be certainly crazy . . .sono certamente pazzo!

 

Villa D’Amore just happened

On By Jo Anne OxleyIn Buying a house in Italy, Campania, Castelnuovo Cilento, Cilento, Expat in Italy, Italy, Mezzogiorno, Owning Italian property, Southern Italy, US citizens purchasing property in Italy, Velina, Italy4 Comments

Ciao Amici!

Well, this is my first official blog on Mezzogiorno Living! At first, I am going to tell a multi-part story about how I came to be where I am in Italy and love The Cilento and Mezzogiorno as I do! Thanks for joining me and I hope you stay for the journey!

There is much romanticized about Italy in movies and the stories we have all heard, but how much of it is really true?

Well, I can tell you that the movie Under the Tuscan Sun is definitely a romanticized version of a true story. Apparently, Hollywood didn’t think the cool things Frances Mayes did were interesting enough to sell without changing her marital status. Also, Frances didn’t just jump off the bus, like in the movie, and buy a house in Italy; she and her husband had vacationed in the area for 20 years before taking the plunge.

While planning my vacation and looking for vacation villas, I inadvertently happened upon a site that was not a rental site, but rather properties for purchase.  All of a sudden, these pictures were in front of my face for an unbelievable price.

I kept staring at “my find”, thinking “I know I am only looking for a rental and there is no way I will do this, but just look at this price – it must be a timeshare. Should I just write the realtor and ask?” I thought that when I learned it was a timeshare (which I am very against), that would be the end of it.

Already, my mind was working overtime about the possibility of doing the impossible. i had perhaps, watched one too many episodes of House Hunters International, and if you have already read my “About” page, you know that my love for Italy had me set up for adventure. Luisa (the realtor) answered back almost immediately, telling mw that this property was not a timeshare, but simply an outright purchase and ownership.

Stay tuned for the next episode . . .